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El Centro, California (NAPSI) - Five percent may not sound like a lot of anything, but when it comes to building new homes, it can make a big contribution toward putting Americans to work.

That’s the word from a father-and-son team of builders who contend that if contractors across the country pledged to use as little as 5 percent more American-made products when they build a new home, they would start a trend that could help to create over 200,000 jobs.

An All-American Home

Anders Lewendal and Jake Lewendal are the father-and-son building team that runs Anders Lewendal Construction and Sustainable Building Solutions out of Bozeman, Montana.

In 2011, the Lewendals constructed the first documented home built entirely from products sourced and/or manufactured in the United States. It’s said the home not only cost about the same as other homes of similar size and quality but also uses less than half the energy of average new homes its size.

Later, an analysis performed by the Boston Consulting Group demonstrated that if every builder in America were to reallocate 5 percent of construction spending from foreign to domestic products, it would in effect create 220,000 American jobs in construction and in the other industries that feed the construction industry.

The Five Percent Pledge

Recently, GAF, North America’s largest roofing manufacturer, held a press conference at the International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it announced its sponsorship of the All-American Home Initiative.

Together, Jake Lewendal and GAF invited show attendees to take the “Five Percent Pledge” at theallamericanhome.com. There, they can commit to using 5 percent more American-made materials in their builds. Manufacturers of American-made products can get free exposure by adding their company’s name to a directory on the All-American Home website when they take the pledge.

Later at the event, a GAF executive indicated that the company’s research shows that 83 percent of homeowners favor American-made products and 82 percent favor products from American-owned companies, and that the company was proud to be able to fulfill both of these expectations through its sponsorship of the initiative.

Founded in 1886, GAF has become the largest roofing manufacturer in North America. Learn more and take the pledge at www.gaf.com.